If you really knew me...

My friend Michelle did an "If you really knew me" post where she listed things that people might only know if they really know her. I tend to like those type of posts where you can find out more about the person, so I thought I would give it a try as well...

IF YOU REALLY KNEW ME,
YOU WOULD KNOW THAT....

*Shel Silverstein is my favorite author.
*I have wore glasses since I was 8 years old.
*I am a very "obsessive" person.
*I am allergic to shellfish, but I avoid all seafood - just in case.
*I can make myself physically sick from worry / paranoia.
*I like to plan events, but don't actually like to attend them.
*I am a home-body.
*I love my job but hate that I have to work.
*I miss staying at home with my kids almost every single day.
*I wanted to be Belle at Disneyland when I graduated High School (heck, I still do!)
*I hate folding laundry and doing dishes by hand.
*I love to mow the lawn.
*I have a panic attack every time I have to drive in the snow.
*I am scared of really tall people.
*I think professional basketball players should never miss a free-throw (and I get really angry when they do).
*I enjoy watching football, but can't stand basketball.
*Dr. Mario on the original Nintendo is my favorite video game.
*I swear, but try to hold back because other people might get offended.

*I dye my hair every few months because I'm already going grey.
*I like to create spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel.
*I like boys (and being in the company of boys) more than girls.
*My favorite ice creams are all coffee-based.
*I love working with the kids in my church and would probably be inactive without them. I am there for them.
*I like to read unrealistic books (things that couldn't really happen).
*I like to listen to a lot of different types of music.
*I adopt people (and entire families) and claim them as my own.


OK - that's all for tonight. It's past my bedtime and I think my kids are all asleep now. If you do one of these lists, I would love to read it, so please let me know. :)

Trying...

You may or may not know that I struggle with depression. You may or may not know how I deal with said depression when I'm not medicated and in a "down" time. For some reason, I feel the need to explain. I found a blog that is EXTREMELY accurate (and kind of funny) in describing it. I think you should check it out by clicking on the picture below (taken from the blog). NOTE: It does have a little "offensive language"... You have been warned.

OR you can copy / paste this to your browser:
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2011/10/adventures-in-depression.html

ANYWAY,
It seems as though I'm in a down part of my emotional roller coaster and have been for a few months. I will probably be up again soon. See, the thing about me is that I have the tendency to pretend I'm fine. I have the ability to smile and go to work, even though I just want to be at home and sleep and / or cry (for no stinking reason!) I only go places when I feel that I have to - like some moral obligation to be there for some reason or some person. I feel sad, even though there is NOTHING to be sad about.


My behavior to those I care about is probably less than desirable. I go through the motions. I go to work. I smile at the guys. I make small talk. I come home and cook dinner and help with homework. I put the kids to bed. And then I stop. I just lay there and stare at nothing. Or I pass out and sleep. Or I cry (again, for NO stinking reason!) I avoid communication with "the outside world" and thanks to modern day technology, I can hide behind this lovely computer or thru texts on my phone. It's easier to pretend you are your "normal, happy self" when people don't see / hear you. I don't go out with friends. I don't go out with my husband when he's home. I don't go out with my kids. I hide. I withdraw from others. I shut down.

In the blog post linked above (and in every picture I've borrowed from her site), it shows how she beats herself up with words and gets mad at herself because she knows she's being stupid. Yep. I do that too. I know that I'm doing things that are probably upsetting others. But how do you say "I'm just sad right now.... It's not you, it's me.... I like being your friend, but I don't want to do anything right now..." And I do worry about it because I hate hurting people's feelings and not being there for them when they might need me, but I don't DO anything about it. Because then they want to talk to you about it and make you better but I don't want to talk about it because there is nothing TO talk about. Just feeling sad for no reason. If there was a reason, it would be SO much easier!!!

And if I'm around people I have to pretend I'm okay. And I do that all day at work and it's exhausting. So exhausting that there have been times at work where I can't hide it and everyone thinks I'm sick and they tell me to go home. So exhausting that I've worked it out in my head that I just need to quit my job so I can be at home and just sleep. All day. And I almost HAVE quit to do exactly that. Then my logical side kicks in and slaps me in the face and tells me to knock it off and deal with it.

It's not like I don't have good moments. There are some days / times where everything is just fine. There are some days / times that I have fun. There are moments that make me genuinely smile. There are times that I'm ok.

But lately, I've been avoiding everything I can. And I don't know how to (or am too proud to?) go into a doctor and say "I'm not ok. I'm exhausted. And I'm sad. And I'm pissing myself off because I'm not ok, exhausted and sad." Last time I was on medication, it was my kids' doctor who noticed. He said "How are YOU doing? You seem a little worn down." Then I told him that I had constant thoughts of everything that could go wrong with my kids, my life, etc. Panic Attacks. Yay. (Those are scary and painful, by the way.) And I took meds. And I was ok. I got sad, but I didn't have pain because of stupid thoughts (panic attacks are painful!) I was just sort of numb. And could function. Except when I got sad. But I was home with the kids and had no down time to be sad. But anyway, this isn't about panic attacks....

So don't be offended. It's not you, it's me. It's nothing you've done. It's me and my stupid head. It's me being selfish and dumb and weird. I love you and I'm sorry I'm not there for you. I know I'm not being a good friend / sister / daughter / religious person. I realize that it seems like I'm avoiding you (and truth be told, I might be), but it isn't BECAUSE of you. It's because of me. It's because I hate pretending. I hate being "fine". I hate lying. But I don't want to talk about it. I don't have anything TO talk about. Nothing in particular is making me sad. Just me. Being sad. Feeling sorry for myself.

I don't know what else to say, other than "I'm Sorry."
And I hope I'll be back to "normal" again soon.
Love,
Mandy

I want, I Want, I WANT!!!

I was feeling quite crappy this morning and called in sick. Around 10:30am, I started feeling better and decided to catch up my blog-surfing (and maybe even writing!)... A blog I follow mentioned this wonderful site: www.perpetualkid.com/

Here are some of the ever so delightful items you can find there...

SNOOPY SNO-CONE MACHINE

My Grandma Bagley had one of these at her house when we lived with her (so 1987/1988?). I LOVED this thing. And I want one ($16.99 ). My birthday IS coming up... Just sayin...

MONSTER HAND TATTOOS
How cool are these tattoos?!
Can't you just see my boys running around "eating" each other with their hand monsters? Awesome. :)

NinjaBread Men
Yes, please!
How cool are these cookie cutters?
My boys would LOVE it!

Smiley face ice cube tray

YAY! :) I'm all about smiley faces!!

And last, but absolutely in NO WAY least....

Mario Room Decals

Basically a giant sticker that you can put on your walls to make it look like the Super Mario video game. Someday, I will have these. You mark my words! Too spendy for me now ($70.00 for three 26"*40" sheets) but I will. When I can live in my whole house, there's gonna be a game room. And this will be my decor.

SO, have you checked out their site yet?
It's addicting!
Don't forget to click the link!!!
http://www.perpetualkid.com/

Hungry...

NOTE: This is not me.

This is my friend Beeno (aka Robyn) - when she was pregnant with TWINS. This is the picture I look at when I'm sad because she looks so stinking CUTE! and I love prego belly pictures. Doesn't she look like the happiest, most awesomely pregnant lady in the world? She's partially why MY baby is named Robyn, you know...

NOTE #2: I am not in any way, shape or form announcing a baby is in our future. We are done having babies. Now, you may continue reading...

NOTE #3: This post is basically, mostly for me. I just felt like writing while the hubby is playing video games...

So lately, I've been obsessed with Baby Bellys. I live in Provo where EVERY girl around me is pregnant. Honestly, it's true. In my Primary, I think all of our husband/wife teachers are pregnant right now with the exception of 1 (maybe 2) couples. My backyard neighbor is pregnant. My side neighbor just had a baby (like last week). My upstairs neighbor had her baby back in June, but she's still a baby! I have a whole bunch of friends on Facebook who are pregnant right now and I just keep going back to their page to look at their pregnancy pictures... (Yeah, it's bad...)

My baby is 3. She's my last. She's forever my baby. And while I'm happy to see her grow and happy to give away all of my 'baby' things and move on to life with older kids, I'm kinda sad.

I love being pregnant. It's the coolest thing in the world. You GROW an actual little person. You can feel them move inside you! Sometimes you can even see your stomach (and this little person) move from side to side and kick! And you get this awesome stomach that isn't a "Wow, you should lose some weight" stomach, but an "Aw! That's so cool, can I feel it?" stomach. And you get to think about baby names and plan for a baby room and get to be a center of all this excitement. Because you are growing a tiny person. The coolest little miracle ever. And I love it. Even the sickness, because you are sick for a reason. And that reason is amazing.

Another thing, I love babies (and I mean, come on, who doesn't!) I love to hold them and snuggle with them and to watch them eat and to hear them laugh and see them smile...... I just love the baby stage. And before you know it, they are crawling. And before you know it, they are walking, and running and talking back and getting too big!!! DANG IT! It is fun watching them discover all these neat things that they can do, but I love that baby stage.

**Sigh**

Jeremiah and I are done. He was ready to get 'fixed' after we had Robyn, but I was not sure. (I had this whole, 'but I feel like I have another baby out there' stage, but I got over that.) So I have some fantastic, no worries type birth control until after Robyn turns 5. Then we go from there (sorry if that is too much info...) but that'll probably just mean we try other birth control or have Jeremiah get 'fixed'. And, honestly, I'm okay with that. I'm perfectly happy with having 3 kids. But there is something in the air (or water!) here and it makes me want to have a baby again. And after checking out pregnancy pictures for the last 2 1/2 hours, it makes me crave it a little.... That and the fact that my kids are at Grandma Hardman's house for the weekend and I'm not having to constantly deal with drama and attitude the KIDS bring on - that might be a factor. :)

So for now, I'm just a little baby hungry... This, too, shall pass.

My Childhood Sweetheart :)

Lately, I've been going through my house, my garage, the closets - basically everywhere - and organizing things. I'm trying to get rid of things and have less clutter in my life!

ANYWAY, I found this great picture. :) It's of me and my friend Jedd Shepherd. If you knew me growing up, you probably heard about my Jedd. :) We claimed each other as boyfriend / girlfriend from 2nd grade on. I would have other random boys here and there, but I'd always go back to "Jedd is my boyfriend". We actually ended up dating when we were Senior's in High School, but I (kinda sorta) cheated on him with Jeremiah. And I guess it worked out, so that's okay, right? And we're still friends cuz he's awesome that way....

ANYWAY, Long Story Short:

Here is the cute picture I found of Jedd and I back in 6th or 7th grade. And then another one of us together at his wedding back in 2008. Enjoy! :)

Random-MAN-i-DY!!!

Random thought have been running through my head and I thought, EH, I should do a post on these random things. :) Random Mandy Thoughts. Random-MAN-i-DY! :) YAY!

SO, here we go with
Random-MAN-i-DY!

*Looking at pictures of Moe as a baby makes me want another baby. But I'm done. I've given away all of my baby things. I have nothing to have another baby. I'm fine with 3. (Repeat until you believe it.)

*I love the Provo Library. I have checked out SO MANY things lately - movies, books, CD's, books on CD... AND they have free events. Free events that my kids love. Free events that are FREE. :) Free, free, free. :)


*When I balanced my checking account the other day (I take it off the online version, put it into a spreadsheet), I forgot to add in the checks that I wrote out from my check book (I pay almost everything online). Slight mistake. Only a difference of, oh, $200. Whoops! Hope we don't need gas for a while!


*I went to Mesquite / St. George for my boys' Spring Break last week. It was awesome. I had a fun time and took tons of pictures. But I haven't found the energy to go thru all those pictures and post a blog on it. Sounds like a big project and I just don't want to do it yet. So, soon... Hopefully.

*I love FaceBook because it gives me a glimpse into the lives of my friends. Helps me feel like I'm not such a bad friend. But if I was a better friend, wouldn't I stop by to see them or call them just to say hi?? Man... I hope I'm not a bad friend.


*I'm looking for a job with insurance. The family NEEDS to have insurance. I really don't care to have a job (I'd rather stay at home with the munchkins), but families need insurance. And families with a child with a heart problem (and parents who haven't had a job in 5 months) can't afford health insurance without the employer spotting at least SOME of the cost!


*I really like our renters. They are fabulous. :) I'm kinda jealous that 'the mom' is pregnant. I love prego bellies. :) My friend Beeno was pregnant with twins and I absolutely LOVE her prego pictures. :) They make me super giddy happy. :)


*I miss my Heber friends. COME SEE ME! I'd love it! If I come that way, I'll have kids in tow and really, what's the fun in that? I'd be too busy yelling at my kids to come back, sit down or be nice to really get the chance to visit. If you are at my house, I can ignore them. :) I don't have to worry about what they will break. :)


*Now that Jeremiah has a job, he's been offered a whole bunch of side work. Of course. Now that he has limited time, he has the chance to have even less time with us. Boo and YAY at the same time.


*My kids miss Jeremiah more than I do now that he's working. Robyn's constantly going around the house saying, 'Daaaaaaaaaadddddddyyyyy'...

*I can't watch the news (or read news stories that aren't about celebrity drama). It makes me super depressed and full of anxiety. So I don't. I avoid it. I live in my own little bubble and I'm okay with that.


*I don't have health (or dental) insurance. I'm due to see a doctor in May for a yearly exam and to get a refill on my 'happy' medicine (Zoloft). Also I have a tooth ache and I chipped my crown in, oh, December. And I have no money to use on such things. I'm kinda thinking I might have to, though. Sorry people / places we owe money to.


*Jeremiah's not currently home (and it's 10:36pm). He went to my sister's house after work to work on her bathroom. And guess what? I'm okay with it. :) It's been nice to not feel guilty about listening to my Ipod while I clean the kitchen, then download a whole bunch of music on to my computer and read all the blogs I was behind on. :) I like non-guilty ME time.


*I'm a big fan of the mixtape. I want to make mixtape CD's for all my friends. And neighbors. And people I don't even know. What kind of music do you want on yours? :)

*I want a new entertainment center. A big one. That takes up lots of room and holds lots of junk. And I want Jeremiah to build it. And paint it. And make it beautiful. But I think I'd like a new front door, first.


* I totally love the band BOWLING FOR SOUP. They are awesome. :) I saw them in concert in August 2007 (you know, 7 months pregnant with Robynson!) and they were great. :) I've liked them for a while now, but for some reason, they are suddenly my #1 band. :) In the car, on the computer, on my IPod, on my Facebook Status! :) They're fab. If you haven't checked them out, DO! You'll love them too. :)

Okay, that's enough sharing for tonight. Thanks for listening to my Random-MAN-i-DY! :)

Thirty.

In honor of turning the BIG 3-0, I've decided to post 30 things that you might not know about me. And believe it or not, this was Jeremiah's Idea! I know I'm surprised too! Ready? It's gonna be long! :)

1. My real name is April. April Amanda (Barlow) Hardman. My parents have always called me Mandy but for doctors appointments and legal things, I'm April. Born in March, named April. They had a mutual friend who was on a mission at the time. They told him to send names (boy and girl) and they would choose one. The only name he sent was Mandy. :)

2. When I was in 5th grade, Jeremiah was my 'boyfriend'. Yep. We held hands on the bus and sat next to each other. He always wore camouflage pants and I had a dream when spending the night at my friends house that I married Jeremiah. I told her about it and she said - NEVER gonna happen. We broke up because his uncle made fun of him because he hadn't kissed me. Many moons later, we actually started to date and got married. Circle of Life, baby.

3. I have 2 Aunts who are only a few years older than me. Growing up, I idolized them (let's be honest, I still kind of do!) My aunt Stacey (my mom's youngest sister) would stay with us during the summer. She would go on dates and I think because no one else was there to 'brag' to, she'd tell me about them. She's tell me about the boy's car, if they kissed, etc. I loved it. :) I think that's what made me want to kiss boys. Her stories were awesome. :)

4. Contrary to what some may believe (because I may or may not have made up stories when I was younger), my first 'real kiss' was at age 15. And I hated it. I even said 'oh gross'... The relationship lasted a whole 3 weeks. I didn't even care. But, to this day, I still don't like the girl he was obsessed with.

5. I was scared to be an 'at home mom'. I knew how to work. I knew my job well. I was good at it. I also had issues staying at home with Archer and DarTanion when Archer was born. Dang postpartum. But when Archer was 18 months old and needed surgery and I took a week off to be at home with him, I knew I could do it. And I enjoyed it. Up to that point, I sort of swore off having another baby for a while. After I stayed home with him and enjoyed it and saw that I could do it, I decided I could have another baby. I told Jeremiah and he agreed and we decided that when I did, I could stay home with the kids. We started trying right away. I went to work, told my boss that I was trying to get pregnant and when I did, I would go on maternity leave and not be coming back. Turns out, I gave him a year's notice. Robyn was born 1 year after.

6. When I was younger, I had a blood disorder called henoch-schoenlein purpura. Basically big bruise looking spots all over my legs. It was evil and it hurt. The doctors didn't know what it was. Lots of blood work, lots of worry, lots of unknown. I eventually 'grew out of it'. I don't know how my parents did it, but I don't remember them really being too scared about it (or letting on to ME that they were scared). I appreciate that. :)

7. I love my friends like I love my family. Chances are, you probably already know this. But when I make friends - and I don't mean just acquaintances, I mean we hang out and do things together type friends - it's a forever thing for me. I will do whatever I can within my means to make you happy, to help you out, to love you and all that comes with you. You become my family that I chose. And I love you. And I'm grateful for that. :)

8. I take WAY too many pictures. We're talking a couple hundred a week. I blame it on my awesome phone. It has a 5 mega pixel camera on it and well, that means I always have a camera on me. I used to carry my camera (which is 12 mega pixel) but my purse was always too full... And with my phone - it's always there! :) So we have a whole hard drive on our computer dedicated to JUST pictures. And it's awesome.

9. I love music. I will often choose a 'theme song' for the day / week. Sometimes it might not have anything to do with that day, other than I heard the song and loved it. :) Music has a way of transporting you to a certain part of your life and making you remember how you felt at that moment - good or bad. For some reason, angry songs make me happy. :)

10. I'm scared of getting older. Bodies breakdown and wear out and it hurts. I've seen friends and family get older and have to go through more and more medical issues. And I'm scared. Scared of the pain and the process. Life is scary.

11. I take Zoloft. I'm not afraid to admit it. It has really helped with my anxiety and my thoughts. I'm able to be a better mom, better friend and better spouse because I'm not freaking out at the drop of a hat. Just ask my friend, Jennifer. We went out once and I got sick. For the next 3 times we went out, I would worry so much that I would get sick that I actually MADE myself sick! I still go thru that when I get really excited for something, that I worry I will get sick and miss out and then I end up making myself sick. Not really fun. But the Zoloft helps. So does the occasional Xanex. So for all the haters - keep your opinion to yourself.

12. I hated Human Resources. Hated it. Something I probably shouldn't admit right now since I'm looking for a job again (so that our family will have some health insurance), but I did. I always came home stressed out. I hated thinking about the people who I had known for a while losing their job and insurance and livelihood. I didn't want to be the bearer of bad news. I'm a nice person. I like everyone to like me. HR was NOT for me and I hope to avoid it in my job search. Cashier, greeter - something simple and not life altering would be just fine with me.

13. I miss old friends. Even the ones who really screwed me over. Ones that lied to me. Cheated me out of things that were mine. Ones that stole from me. Ones that did all three! But they all had a quality that made me like them. And those qualities, I miss.

14. My dark side exists in Dr. Mario. :) I'm a nice person until it comes to a little competition in Dr. Mario and then I get evil. I even swear! It works me up and gets me excited and it's a rush! Man.. I'm kind of sad that way, I guess. :)

15. I miss the attention I used to get when I was young and skinny. I liked the complements and the flirting. I didn't act on it, but it was nice to be hit on...

16. As cheesy romantic it may sound, Jeremiah really is my best friend. I can tell him anything, he makes me laugh when I'm sad (or any time, really) and he helps me out. He has a million great qualities that he doesn't always let others see. I'm glad that I had a weak moment in high school and started kissing him. :)

17. I am actually really thankful for the trials in my life. The small, day-to-day ones and the big ones that I have had to face and over come. I'm a big believer in choice. I try to make a conscience decision to do good and to be positive. I believe that I have grown a lot from everything I've had to face. From fights with friends, to baby scares, to babies being sick. I've grown. I've overcome. And I'm stronger because of it.

18. I'm happy to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. :) I've had my share of rebellion and struggles and trials in religion, but I've always came back. And I've always found peace and comfort. God is good. :)

19. I have a need to be needed. I like to feel useful. I think that's why being a mom is so great to me. :) They ALWAYS need me. :)

20. My favorite band is Aerosmith. I've seen them live 3 or 4 times. They are fantastic live. I love going to concerts. If I had lots of expendable money, that's what I would do with it. See as many live shows as I could. Let's see if I can name all the people I've seen live... Aerosmith, Kid Rock, KISS, Jimmy Eat World, Melee, Army of Freshmen, Bowling for Soup, Motley Crue, Poison, Lonestar, John Anderson, New Kids on the Block, Lady Gaga, Natasha Beddingfield, Boys II Men, Cheap Trick, Ratt, New Found Glory, Dokken, Chris Ledoux, Sawyer Brown, Vanilla Ice, and MC Hammer. I think I'm probably missing some...

21. I don't usually eat breakfast food for breakfast. I'm a 'real' food person all day. Give me left overs from last night's lasagna or pizza and I'm happy. Sometimes I'll do breakfast, but normally, I'm totally happy with leftovers.

22. My family has a tradition of shooting our Easter eggs instead of eating them. We take them up on a mountain, sit them on top of a milk jug and shoot. I'm a great shot. Better than some boys I know. :) Also, I've killed a deer before. My dad made me. He said if I didn't, that I couldn't go to Homecoming, so 3 shots later and we had a dead deer.

23. I'm 5 ft 5in tall. I'm 183 lbs (did I just write that down for the world to see?) I wear a size 15 - 16 in pants (that too?). My shoes are about an 8 1/2. And of course, the measurement that matters most? :) 38 DD.

24. I've had some great best friends in my life. Sandy Turner, Teresa Sanders, Jedd Shepherd, Michelle Davidson, Kelly Cook, Jeremiah Hardman, Angie Neal, Mandy Smith, Beeno Zaccardi, Jennifer Sweat, Jessie Post, and Heather Bagley. I've had other friends, but I think that these ones are some that truely affected who I am today. They are all awesome people. You should meet them all. :)

25. My mom wanted to name me Shasta Lee (if I was a girl) or Sheldon Z (if I were a boy). I'm glad I ended up being Mandy. :) I hope our kids will be okay with our 'weird' choices in names.

26. Some of my favorite movies are: Almost Famous, Can't Hardly Wait, Empire Records, Clue, Saved, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Zoolander, and other goofy funny comedies.

27. I am an obsessive person. If I find something that I really like, I tend to become obsessed. In my youth, I watched General Hospital. When I was old enough to know how (aka high school), I recorded the episodes that were on during the day so that I could watch them when I got home. I missed school (and my mom let me) when Lucky 'died'. I was depressed for a whole week. He was my favorite. Then I bought videos someone made of all of Lucky and Liz's moments together. We watched them on my bridal shower. I was a member of 3 different fan clubs.. I've finally given up GH and I'm glad. Now I have other obsessions...

28. In 6th grade, I was one of the Class President's for Mr Crittenden's class. I also won a trophy at the end of the year for 'most athletic'. Now, if you know me at all - you know I'm not athletic. But I tried. And apparently, that's what they wanted! :)

29. I've had glasses since 3rd grade. I didn't get contacts until I was 19. I wore them pretty steadily until I quit my job. Now it's a handful of times a year. Glasses just work for me. I probably won't be able to get Lasik to 'fix' my eyes because of how bad they are. And they are still changing. I'm 'not a good candidate' for Lasik... Oh well. :)

30. I was hospitalized in between 3rd and 4th grade. I had a root canal done and the dentist punctured my sinus. The infection in my tooth spread, went up to my sinus and was attacking my eye (and draining out of my newly pierced ears). My face swelled and I was taken to the hospital. It took a big nurse, my dad and mom to hold me down while they put the IV in. Twice. I did NOT want that in.

SO... Did you read it all? Do you know all about me? Do you have more questions? If so, just ask. I'm pretty much an open book. :)

Get to know me a little better.

• Do you like pets? Have you any? Yes, I like pets. Currently I have 1 cat, 1 dog.
  
• Which was the last book you read?Currently reading City of Glass and the Book of Mormon
  
• Are you fond of cooking? Generally, yes.
  
• Have you ever lived in another country? Nope. Not much of a traveler.
  
• Have you ever met a famous person? A few, but none that stand out right now.
  
• What do you do in your free time? What Free time? I'm a mom! Read, sleep.
  
• What kind of food do you prefer eating when you are out? Mexican. Cafe Rio, to be exact.
  
• What kind of people do you like?All - but the ones with a past seem to have the best stories and tend to be the most interesting.
  
• What kind of people do you not like? Um... Mean ones, I guess?
  
• What are the various languages that you know to speak in?English, Heber-ite, Jibberish, Thomas
  
• What cartoon character best describes you the best? Marge Simpson
  
• If you had an option to choose a place anywhere in the world where you could live for a year, where would it be? Disneyland. :)
  
• If you knew, could you try on any kind of work and that you would not fail in it, what would attempt doing? Being a millionaire. :)
  
• What super-power would you most like to have, and why? Super Mom powers - be able to keep the house clean, dishes done, meals that everyone will eat on the table, teach my kids everything they need to know before they need to know it...
  
• If you had $5 million to spend in 5 days, but with the clause that you could not spend any of it on yourself or your family, what would you do with it? Help out my friend (if I can't help out my family) and donate it to Primary Children's Hospital. :)
  
• Which sports do you like? Dancing (it's a sport, people!), Football, T-Ball when my kids are playing it :)
  
• Who do you respect the most? Those who have overcame a hard situation / past and are 'better' because of it
  
• Who plays the most influential role in your life? My hubby and kids
  
• Which is your favorite concert you have ever attended so far? Aerosmith concerts. I love those guys. Seeing them with KISS was pretty awesome. :)
  
• Would you bungee jump? Doubtful. Too dangerous for this girl!
  
• What were you like when you were a kid? (happy, playful…)I'd say a good kid - happy - but kind of a nerd who liked 'scary' things (books / movies / etc)
  
• When was the first time that you had alcohol? What happened after that?I was 17 at my Mandy's 17th Bday Party. Good experience, though. Only drank a few times before I was 'legally' of age to do so. Then for about 3-6 months after I was 21, I drank fairly often. Then I stopped, got pregnant and haven't looked back. Don't regret doing it then, or stopping doing it.
  
• If you were the richest person on earth, what would you do with the money you had? I'd like to think I would help others out... Going thru the experiences I've gone thru in my life, I would donate lots to hospitals, places to find cures for diseases, schools, parks, etc. I'd like to think I would be generous if I were able to be.
  
• What would your dream house be like? Big. With a maid and a cook. And a big library and theater room. Oh, and a game room... And a big back yard with a fabulous play area. And a pool. And lots of other wonderful things. :)
  
• If you could change something about yourself, what would it be & why? I'd like to be skinny, but I think that comes with being a girl! :)
  
• When did you last have the heartiest laugh? Probably over something that Archer or Jeremiah did. They crack me up. :)
  
• What do you prefer - spontaneity or stability? I think I'd like to say spontaneity, but if I was really honest, it'd probably be stability.
  
• Do you love kids? I really do. I like being a mom, but I also like other people's kids. I like to volunteer at my kids schools. I like being in Primary on Sundays. I love watching their little minds GROW! Kids are pretty much amazing. :)
  
• Tell me about a scary time in your life. Robyn getting sick. That was pretty much the scariest thing I've gone thru. (www.robynhardman.blogspot.com) Archer's pregnancy was kind of scary for me. I was hospitalized as a kid for about a week, I think. And my blood disorder as a child. Yep. Those are my scary times. :)
  
• What are your hobbies? I like to read. I don't do it as much as I would like to. I like to swim. I like to make crafty little notebooks. I like to make new friends. See movies.
  

Okay, so do you know me better? Do you have any questions? I'm an open book, people. Ask me anything. :)